'India to boost infrastructure in villages along Chinese border areas' says FM Sitharaman

In a bid to develop and improve connectivity in the areas along the border of Indo-China, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced a scheme to strengthen the infrastructure under the new Vibrant Villages Programme. Nirmala Sitharaman who was presenting the Union Budget 2022 on Tuesday announced this program in the backdrop of recent activities of lingering border standoff in the Eastern Ladakh area and further security establishment concerning setting up of villages by China close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC). 

Speaking during her budget speech, she said that the border villages with a sparse population, limited connectivity, and infrastructure usually gets left out from the developmental schemes and benefits, and thus such villages under the northern border will now be covered under the new 'Vibrant Villages Programme'. Further providing more information on the programme, she said that the activities will include the construction of village infrastructure, housing, tourist centres, road connectivity, provisioning of decentralised renewable energy, direct to home access for Doordarshan, and educational channels, and support for livelihood generation. 

The finance minister also noted that funding for these activities will be also provided by the government. While the existing schemes will be converged, the government will define the outcomes and monitor them on a daily basis, she added.

Notably, this came after the Home Minister's allocation for border management has been increased by 43% taking it from Rs 1921.39 crore to Rs 2517.02 crore. Expectedly, the increased amount is likely to be spent on the vibrant village programme. 

China setting up 'model villages' in northern border areas

In the last few years, China has been setting up 'model villages' in the Northern areas bordering India. Following this, the Indian Army has also been constantly monitoring the developments which include the construction of multi-story buildings followed by sports and recreation facilities that remains deserted and are being converted into military facilities. Furthermore, structures in such villages consist of observation towers resembling military camps which can be also used for accommodating troop deployment on short notice.

In view of such developments, the Indian government has also taken a series of measures in the last couple of years for boosting the border infrastructure. Speaking on the same, Eastern Army Commander Lt Gen Manoj Pand in October said that India has been taking note of the villages that have come up on the Chinese side of the border. 

Image: PTI